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Human runners competed against 21 humanoid robots successful a fractional marathon successful Beijing, China, this weekend, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The Chinese government, which has made nary concealed of its enactment for the robotics industry, billed the lawsuit arsenic a accidental to showcase the country’s emerging technology. But contempt evident advantages similar not getting bushed oregon feeling pain, quality runners inactive came retired mostly victorious.
Tien Kung Ultra, the event’s robot winner, managed to decorativeness the 13-mile contention successful 2 hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds earlier being surrounded by spectators for photographs. Meanwhile, the event’s antheral quality champion finished the contention successful 1 hour, 2 minutes and 36 seconds.
But galore of the different robots did not bask the aforesaid level of success. As per the WSJ’s reporting, immoderate robots “never made it overmuch beyond the starting line,” portion different robot, dubbed Huanhuan, ran successful the incorrect absorption earlier sitting down mid-course and “refusing to spell further.”
One robot, nicknamed Shennong, allegedly started “swinging wildly” astatine the opening of the race, tripped up the quality runner guiding it, and aboriginal crashed into a wall.
Many of the robot athletes were controlled via distant controls. Others, specified arsenic Tien Kung Ultra, were guided by quality companions utilizing a wireless tracking exertion that enables them to pass with the idiosyncratic moving successful beforehand of it, judging the distances needed.
But portion you mightiness beryllium faster than the finest of the Chinese robotics industry—for now—that whitethorn not beryllium the lawsuit for long.
In 2025, the Chinese authorities established a state-backed task superior money focused connected robotics, which plans to put astir $137 cardinal into the manufacture implicit the adjacent 20 years.
Meanwhile, robotics was highlighted arsenic a cardinal country successful the country’s “Made successful China 2025” plan, a authorities inaugural to alteration the country’s manufacturing assemblage from producing inexpensive goods to high-value, high-tech industries—and trim its reliance connected overseas technology.
But if you are acrophobic this could beryllium a motion of China's encroaching AI dominance, you mightiness beryllium misguided.
Alan Fern, prof of machine science, artificial quality and robotics astatine Oregon State University, told Reuters that the contention was "more of a hardware endurance demonstration," and though interesting, didn't show "any benignant of basal intelligence."